Ronins Abroad
by laylawi
Summary: The Ronins are thrust into another world to help save the people from a horrible fate.
1. Prologue

*****This is an idea I have had for a while, so I finally sat down and started putting it in words. This is my first Ronin fanfic, so I hope you enjoy! I don't own the Ronin Warriors or Mia*****

PROLOGUE

The crusty old chief looked at the witch woman wearily. "Have you brought me an answer yet, Ultana? I am tired of fighting a losing battle." He threw himself into his worn chair made of animal hides and tree branches. Gesturing towards a serving woman in the shadows of the room, he rubbed his calloused hand over his tired eyes. The woman instantly brought him a goblet of wine, placing it on the small table next to him. He took a swig and fixed his ice blue eyes on the cowering woman crouched in the center of his hut. "Well, witch?"

The young woman shined her topaz eyes at her leader. Oh how she loathed this man. She was now kneeling in what appeared to be submission, but her eyes blazed in hatred as she stared at him. If she hadn't promised her mother that she would watch after him after her mother's death, she would have run out long ago. As it was, she only came to his hut when she was summoned, preferring to stay in her own home, healing people with her powers. "I have, Lord Attol." She waved her hand at the wall in the chief's hut and he jumped as a picture appeared. He leaned forward at the scene playing out on his clay wall. He saw five young men dressed in colorful clothes defeating many other warriors. They worked as if cut from the same cloth, these young warriors. He was amazed at their abilities to handle their weapons.

"Who are they?" he asked the sorceress.

"They are called the Ronin Warriors, my liege," she answered. "There are five of them and I believe that they will be able to help us." She watched as her lord peered at the picture. She was sure that these young men would be of great help to her and her people, but she was unsure if her powers were strong enough to summon them. But she daren't tell her lord that, since she still bore the bruises on her face from the last time she had displeased him. After she had told him that his remaining son had died, that she had been unable to heal him. Her own brother.

The chief stroked his bushy gray beard as he leaned back in his chair. Sighing, he looked around his home. The dark brown walls held the evidence of a warrior's residence, weapons hanging from various pegs. His favorite, a huge claymore, sat on a table next to his chair, close by in case he needed it. The doorway was covered by an animal hide, and a cool breeze came through the open window next to it. He looked down at the beautiful girl sitting on the ground, her arm waving away the strange image on his wall. He knew she disliked him, could see it in her witch eyes. Her mother had eyes like that, but they had never looked at him in anger. She had always looked at him in fear as a wife should. She had given him several sons, strong men who were magnificent on the battle field. Unfortunately, the battles had taken their toll and all he was left with was this lowly daughter, now kneeling in front of him awaiting his answer on these foreign warriors. Closing his eyes tiredly, he took a drink of wine from the goblet at his side. "Bring them."

*****I know this chapter is really short, but aren't most prologues? :) Please leave a review!*****


	2. Ronins Separated

*****I don't own the Ronin Warriors or Mia*****

CHAPTER ONE

Sage awoke from a deep sleep with a gasp, cold sweat matting his blond hair to his forehead. _Something's wrong, _he thought to himself. Looking around his tiny dorm room, he saw his roommate, Timothy, snoring peacefully. After a quick glance revealing that nothing appeared out of place, Sage relaxed slightly. He lay back down on his pillow, trying to slow his breathing back to a regular rhythm. He closed his eyes, attempting to fall back asleep since, looking at the clock, he noted that it was only a little after three in the morning. As he started to doze, it felt as if ice cold tendrils were wrapping around his chest, sending chills deep into his body. His blue eyes flew open again and the chills receded. He sat up, cursing as he smacked his forehead, his loft bed being only a few feet from the ceiling. He ran his hands through his tousled blond hair and rubbed his eyes. Deciding that sleep was impossible, he did a quick calculation figuring that it would be evening in Japan. He slipped out of bed and grabbed his cell phone. Sneaking outside, he quickly dialed Rowen.

"Sage, man, how the hell are you!" the blue-haired warrior greeted as he picked up the other end. "How's U-Dub?" Learning a lot? How's the weather? Is it raining? Dating any hot Americans?"

Sage smiled and closed his eyes as he leaned against the brick building. He stood partially obscured behind a large bush in case anyone should look out their window. How good it was to hear his best friend's voice, speaking his native tongue. While Sage's English was excellent, it was still nice to not have to think about every word before speaking. "I'm good, Rowen. How is everybody there? How're Kento and Mia?"

"Great! We miss all you guys! It sucks that you, Cye, and Ryo decided to go so far away to study, and you left all of us behind."

Sage grinned. He remembered the day that he had received his acceptance letter in the mail, informing him that he was indeed able to go to the University of Washington.

_"Why do you have to go so far away?" Rowen asked._

_Sage had laid a hand on his shoulder. "I think it's good for all of us to grow up a little. You know, away from each other. Cye and Ryo are leaving too and you're not complaining about that."_

_"I know," Rowen wailed. "But they're not my best friend!"_

_"I'll be back before you know it."_

_"That's fine. I'll just have to get a new best friend while you're gone."_

_Sage just laughed, knowing that he would miss Strata horribly while he was away studying in a foreign country._

"I'm sure you've been keeping plenty busy," Sage chuckled, shivering slightly as the cool fall breeze cut through his t-shirt. "But there is actually a reason I called you at three in the morning."

"It's seven at night here."

"Yes, I know that. It's three in the morning _here_!"

"Oh, right."

Sage cut off his teasing friend. "Rowen, has the Dynasty been up to something?"

Instantly his friend was all business. "Why? What's going on?"

Sage shook his head, well aware that Rowen couldn't see him anyway. "Nothing yet. It's just...something feels off. Not sure what it is. I woke up and when I tried to go back to sleep, it felt like-I don't know-like something was grabbing at me. Something cold. Can you just talk to Mia and see what she can find? I assume you still hang out with her?"

"Of course, man. I'll go over there as soon as we hang up."

"Thanks. I better go, because people are going to think I'm a whack-job, standing outside in the dark in my pajamas, talking on the phone."

"Just tell them it's an old Japanese tradition," Rowen teased.

"No way, everybody already thinks I'm a little off my rocker."

Rowen laughed. "All right, I'll let you go then. And Sage," he called out as Sage was ending the call. "It's good to hear from you."

"Yeah, you too, " Sage mumbled as hung up his cell phone. Taking a quick glance around, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. The heavy night fog of Washington had settled comfortably over the city, not ready to leave until the morning sun came out and burned it away. Even then, on some days it persisted, leaving the weather cold and damp. Shivering again as the wind picked up, he let himself back in the dorm and settled down in his computer chair, debating whether to try and get more sleep before his 8am Geography class. Remembering the cold chill in his chest the last time he closed his eyes, he flicked on his computer to begin research on a History paper.

After a few minutes of internet surfing on the War of 1812, he heard groaning from the other side of the room. "Sage, man," his roommate protested from his lofted bed. "Turn off the light!"

Sage murmured an apology and turned off the bright monitor. He really wasn't ready to try and sleep again, but wasn't sure what to do. He paced the room for a few minutes until Timothy threw a pillow at his head. He finally decided to meditate quietly, deciding that his roommate couldn't find a reason to complain about that. He perched on his bed, legs crossed, hands held palms up.

Timothy cracked one eye open and saw his roommate in the bizarre position. Why did he get stuck with the crazy Japanese exchange student? The guy was a nut! "What a weirdo," he whispered and rolled over to go back to sleep. Little did he know, he was roomed with a Ronin Warrior with excellent hearing. Sage cocked a grin before settling into his meditations...quietly of course.

Rowen looked at his cell phone. It had been nice hearing Sage's voice again. Ever since the blond had made up his mind to study in the States, they hardly ever talked anymore. Especially after the first month he had moved. After talking a couple of times a week, they were each presented with an astronomical cell phone bill. Too bad the only reason he now called was for something bad. _Sage always did have a sixth sense for danger_, Rowen thought. He sat back on his broken down couch, and gazed around the apartment. He and Kento were now roommates and had managed to get an apartment off of campus, thankfully. The unfortunate side is that they were both horrible slobs and it showed all over the living room.

Dirty sweatshirts and various clothing items were strewn all over the furniture, and there were holes in the wall where their training sessions had gotten a little too rough. Still, Rowen had to admit that it was nice to be able to have a roommate you could spar with so their fighting skills never got rusty. Too bad their apartment had to take the brunt of it. They were definitely not getting their security deposit back! All in all, it wasn't so bad, the neighbors only calling the police twice due to the noise. They were both a little embarrassed the first time that had happened, the cop mistaking them for lovers in a domestic dispute. They both had stumbled over themselves to explain that they were merely exercising and that they were most definitely into women! That the cop had been a gorgeous woman hadn't made them any less embarrassed!

It was quiet in the apartment now since Kento was at work at his parent's restaurant. Rowen looked at his watch, deciding that it wasn't too late to go over to Mia's and discuss the strange phone call with her. He grabbed his keys and ran out of his apartment to jump into his battered red Corolla. He sped out of the city and dialed Mia's number from the road, greeting her with "I'm coming over, we have to talk." Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the driveway of her beautiful two story lake home. She met him at the door in slippers and a pink tank top with pink and blue checkered fuzzy lounge pants. "Mia!" He jumped out of the car and raced up the stairs, gathering her into a huge hug. He picked her up and swung her around, laughing as she screamed and threw her arms around his neck. He set her down and smiled as she dizzily ushered him inside.

He pulled his shoes off and stepped into her warm-and clean, he couldn't help notice-living room. Seeing her clothes, Rowen apologized. "Were you just getting ready for bed?"

Mia shook her head in the negative. "No, I have just been feeling a little sick, so I decided to get into my pajamas a little early. I was just watching TV." Now that Rowen could see her in the light, she did look slightly feverish and her nose was bright red with the beginnings of a nasty cold. Her long auburn hair was swept up in a ponytail which made her look much younger than her 21 years. She sat on the couch and crossed her legs, looking at Rowen expectantly. "So, what's up?"

Rowen sat in the armchair across the living room, enjoying not having to move several items from it first, as he always had to do at his home. "I just got a phone call from Sage, and-"

"Oh yay!" Mia shouted, interrupting him. "How is he? Is he enjoying Seattle? I've always wanted to go there! He is so lucky!"

Rowen smiled at her enthusiasm. "Sorry, it wasn't a pleasure call. He asked if the Dynasty was up to anything. He said that he just felt 'off'."

"Off?" Mia wrinkled her nose. "What does that mean?"

The blue-haired warrior shrugged one shoulder in an offhand manner. "You got me. He said that he felt like something was grabbing him-something cold. I told him that I would ask you if you had heard anything."

"Not me," the girl answered, shaking her head. "I can find out from Ryo, I suppose."

Rowen perked up at the name, not having heard from his friend since he left for India several months ago. "You've heard from Ryo?"

Mia nodded, not catching Rowen's eye. "Yeah, he calls every couple of weeks just to check in."

Strata looked glumly at his feet. They had been so close during their months of fighting the Dynasty, that nobody had ever considered that after high school, they would go their separate ways. Rowen, Kento, and Mia were the only ones who stayed in Japan, Mia working, and Kento and Rowen studying, all three at Shinsha University. Ryo took off to India to study tigers, being so used to having a large white one sleeping next to his bed. Cye went the opposite direction and was on the Galapagos Islands, studying the various exotic sea creatures. Sage, of course, was in Seattle. Nobody was really sure why he had chosen to study there, but it was Rowen's thought that it was because he had just wanted to get away from his family for a few years, tired of always being told what to do. But it was hard for Rowen to never see any of them.

"I miss them all too," Mia's soft voice broke into his thoughts. He looked up and marveled at her ability to read his mind. He hadn't even been out to see Mia much lately, mostly just seeing her around campus while he was at school.

"It just sucks, you know," he grumbled, picking invisible lint off of his jeans.

"I know. But," she said brightly, "I do have some good news. Ryo did say that he was going to be home for Christmas. We'll all have to plan a get together here for the holidays. "

Rowen smiled as he looked at her shining face. "That will be great! I'll have to call Sage and Cye, and make sure they're going to be here too. I really miss Cye's cooking. Kento and I can cook, but it's not exactly gourmet." He frowned. "Actually, you would think, for a guy who works in a restaurant that he would be a better cook. Our meals usually involve some form of mac'n'cheese. Maybe with some hamburger. Or pizza."

Mia smiled as he jumped out of the chair, excited by the prospect of seeing his other three best friends again. "I'll call Sage, since I want to talk to him about his 'off' feeling. Do you think he's still awake?"

"It's pretty early in the morning there. You should probably wait until tomorrow." Rowen stood up, stretching and yawning. "I better get going. Got an early class in the morning. Call me tomorrow after you talk to Sage!" He gave her shoulders a quick squeeze, and headed out the door to his car. As he opened his driver's door, he changed his mind at the last second and took a slight detour to the lake next to Mia's house. He had missed the peace and quiet of the beautiful location, and decided to take a few moments to enjoy it before heading back to the bustle of the city. He sat down on the rocks next to the shoreline and leaned back on his hands, quietly watching the stars and breathing the fresh night air. Realizing suddenly that it was only about four in the morning in the Galapagos Islands, Rowen got a wicked look on his face and whipped out his cell phone to punch in Cye's number.

"Hello?" a sleepy voice answered after several rings.

"Hey, buddy, it's Rowen! Thought I'd call and say hi!"

There was a pause on the other line. "Do you have any freakin' idea what time it is here?"

"Yep. Did it on purpose."

Another pause. "You are such a jerk."

Rowen laughed. "Aren't I though? So how's it going?" All thoughts of Sage's bad feelings were forgotten as Strata happily talked to his friend, whom he hadn't spoken with for several months.

Cye let out a huge yawn. "Not too bad. The weather's been great! And you wouldn't believe all of the animals here!"

"That's awesome, glad you're having fun," Rowen responded. "Are you coming home for Christmas?"

"Of course, why?"

Rowen grinned. "Ryo's going to be here too, so that will be nice to have everyone home at the same time!"

"Sage will be there too?" the sandy-haired warrior asked.

"Mia's calling him tomorrow about that, but I'm sure he'll be here. His parents would never forgive him if he didn't come home for Christmas." Sage's mother was American, so their family was always sure to celebrate Christmas as she had done when she was younger.

"I never thought I would say this, but it will be nice to sleep in a bed that doesn't float. Even I can get a little seasick after a while."

Rowen smiled at the disgruntled voice. Hotels weren't exactly a mainstay of the Galapagos, so Cye was staying on a sailboat offshore with his professor and a group of interns. "I can't believe you have cell phone service!"

"It's a satellite phone," came the sleepy reply.

"Oh," Rowen answered. "Well, I'm getting pretty tired, so I better go. It's really late here, maybe seven or so. Good night!"

"You son-of-a-"

Rowen snapped the cell phone shut before Cye could finish his tirade. Chuckling, he stood up and walked back to his car. He stopped suddenly as he felt a strange, cold sensation travel though his body, feeling as if hands were clutching at his ribs and trying to pull him to the ground. "What the hell was that?" he asked out loud. A piercing pain stabbed into his temples, bringing him to his knees. He shouted in agony and grabbed his head with his hands, dropping his forehead to the cold ground. White flashes appeared behind his eyelids and he fought back a bout of nausea. Then as suddenly as the pain had begun, it stopped. Breathing a few times to calm himself, he slowly got to his feet, legs unsteady. He scanned the darkness, crouched at the ready to defend himself, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Lights still danced merrily in the windows of Mia's house, so it wasn't the Dynasty. They were usually accompanied by power outages. "Who's out there?" he called, head still sore from the previous pain.

"Rowen?" Mia called from the window. "Are you talking to someone?"

Rowen turned to her, eyes wide. "I think Sage is right. Something weird is going on."

*****Please leave a review!*****


	3. The Summons

*****I don't own the Ronins, Mia, or Rinfi*****

CHAPTER TWO

"Why aren't they here yet?" the gruff chief screamed at the tiny sorceress, a beefy hand lashing out and knocking several of her bottles off of a small table next to him. They landed on the ground, shattering most of them on the ground. Liquid spilled out of the wreckage, seeping into the dirt floor. Ultana glared at the mess, irritated that her healing potions were now wasted on the rocks.

"I'm sorry, my liege," she soothed, placing a tiny hand on her father's arm. "I can't get a lock on them one at a time. If they would just get in one area, I might be able to use their armor's power and summon them. At this stage, there is nothing I can do." Attol pushed her to the ground angrily, and pulled a dagger out of the belt at his waist.

"There better be something you can do," he growled menacingly, advancing on her.

"Please, my lord! I will keep on trying!" Ultana turned back to the image on the wall of her small, dingy hut. She sighed in relief as she heard her father leave her house in a huff. Frowning, she stared at the image of the blue-haired warrior as he walked back into the house belonging to the red-haired girl. He watched as the girl placed a hand on top of his head, feeling his forehead in concern. Ultana pursed her lips in thought and began pacing the small hut. Tapping her finger on her teeth, she muttered as she walked back and forth. "I was unable to bring the green one and the dark blue one. I can't find the red or the light blue, so that just leaves the orange. Maybe I will have luck with that one."

She had hoped that if she could at least bring one of them here, that would distract her father long enough that she would be able to bring the others without him interrupting her constantly with his threats and beatings. She fingered the latest bruise on her eye in annoyance. It seemed that ever since her mother had died-by Attol's own hand, no less-he had turned all of his rage at his young daughter. Taking a deep breath to clear her thoughts from her father, she turned to the image and implored it to find the warrior in orange. The image changed to show the young man standing at a large basin, washing dishes. Ultana looked closer at the man, concentrating deeply on him. Quietly, she began to chant.

* * *

"Kento, aren't you done yet?" his sister Rinfi shouted from the office of the restaurant. "I want to close up and go home!"

"Then you get your butt back here and help me!" Hardrock shouted back, flinging a handful of soapy water at her. She shrieked and hid behind the door so as not to get wet.

Kento growled and focused on the task at hand. He hated doing the dishes, much preferring to add up the books at the end of the night. But he had lost an important match of 'rock-paper-scissors' to his sister, so she gleefully worked on the books while her older brother was stuck washing the dishes.

He had long ago given up the idea of getting a job somewhere other than the restaurant owned by his parents. He had tried, but after a guilt trip by his mother, he had simply sighed and asked when she wanted him at work the following day.

"If Talpa could only see me now," he grumbled, scrubbing a particularly stubborn set of chopsticks. "The proud Warrior of Hardrock, washing up after screaming kids and annoying parents." Grabbing a delicate tea cup, he suddenly shuddered as a deep chill went through him, seeming to grab hold of his heart and pull. "What the hell?" He gasped as he accidentally broke the tea cup, cutting his hand. A stabbing pain shot through his head and he fell to the ground, blood flowing from the wound, running onto the clean tile floor. As the throbbing in his head became worse, he brought both hands to his face and writhed on the floor, blood smearing everywhere.

"Kento?" he vaguely heard Rinfi call after hearing her brother yell. "Kento!" He felt his sister grab at his hand and gasp as she saw the deep cut and the blood everywhere. "Oh my gosh, are you okay? We have to get you to the doctor!"

"No," he protested, feeling as if he were swimming in a pool of acid as his skin began burning. "It's my head, it hurts! My-my skin is on fire!"

"What?" Rinfi asked. "What are you saying, Kento? I can't understand you!"

All at once, the pain and burning subsided, and Kento found himself lying on the cold floor, hand in his sister's lap as she staunched the blood flow with a cloth napkin.

"Wha-what happened?" he asked, uninjured hand coming up to cover his eyes. "Rinfi?"

"Kento?" his sister asked, brown eyes wide. "What the hell just happened to you?"

"I don't know." Kento grabbed the napkin from her and wrapped it around the nasty cut on his palm. "And don't swear. It's not ladylike." He stood up and almost fell over until he felt his sister loop his heavy arm around her shoulder. She walked him over to the office chair where he collapsed, cradling his injured hand.

"Do you need to see the doctor for your hand?" she asked, fretting over him like a mother hen. "That cut looks really bad."

"No, it's fine, it's just-my head. I don't know what just happened but my head-hurt like hell." The throbbing was still there, but more tolerable now, and Kento was able to stand.

"Are you sure you should be getting up?" Rinfi grabbed at his arm, but he gently pushed her away.

"Can you close up?" Kento ignored her questions as he grabbed his coat.

"Yes, but-"

"I have to go, I'll talk to you later! Love ya!" He sprinted out of the restaurant, leaving his car for Rinfi. He ran all the way back to his apartment, about ten long blocks away and was panting from the exertion as he ran up the steps to the front door to the apartment building. Bursting through the door, he began shouting Rowen's name. "Rowen, man, where are you?" He slammed through the apartment, checking all of the rooms, looking for his friend. "Rowen!"

Pulling out his cell phone, he called his roommate, unsure of where he had gone off to.

"Kento?" Rowen answered on the first ring. "Where are you?"

"I'm at home. Where are you?"

"Mia's. Are you okay? How are you feeling?"

Kento went cold at his friend's concern. Obviously he had known right away that something was wrong. "Rowen, what's going on?"

"You felt it too? Sage already called me and said that something just felt-"

"Cold," Kento finished.

"Yep."

"And pain-horrible, excruciating pain!"

"Sage didn't mention pain, but that's what I felt too. Whatever it is, it's getting stronger." Rowen sighed. "Mia doesn't know what's going on, but she's checking the internet to see if anything strange is going on around the world. We don't think it's the Dynasty but we're checking just to make sure."

"Let me know if you find anything," Kento asked, sitting heavily on a kitchen stool, dizzy from the blood loss from his hand. The linen napkin that was wrapped around his palm had originally been white, but it was now red from his blood.

"Do you want me to come pick you up?"

"No, I think I need to get to the hospital. I cut my hand and it's bleeding pretty badly."

"Can you get yourself there?" Rowen's concerned voice cut through the fog.

"Kento!" Strata heard Rinfi's voice call over the phone.

"No, my sister's here. Call me if you find anything." Kento answered.

"Will do. Have fun getting stitches."

"I hate needles," came the grumbled response. The phone went silent.

* * *

Rowen hung up the phone. "Kento felt it too," he explained to Mia as he turned towards her. He sat down on her couch with a heavy sigh, running his hands through his tousled hair. "I don't know what's going on," he admitted. "But it was almost as if Sage described. Like cold hands grabbing at us. Something is trying to get our attention. I just wish I knew what _it _was."

"But Sage didn't say anything about the pain that you and Kento felt," Mia finished. "Is Kento okay?"

Rowen nodded, feeling sleepy after the night's events. "Yeah, but he sliced his hand in the process and had to go to the hospital. I said I would call him if we found anything."

"According to the internet news, there's nothing strange going on around the world for now." Mia shrugged and perched on the armrest of the couch, next to Rowen. She placed her hand back on his forehead. "Are you feeling better now?"

He shrugged. "My head doesn't hurt, but I still feel uneasy. Kinda like someone's watching me. On a plus side, it didn't sound like Cye has had any weird feelings, so that's something, I suppose."

"Yet."

Rowen swiped a hand across his tired eyes. "Mia," he started, "I think I had better sleep here for a little while. Just in case something does come up, I don't want to leave you unprotected. Our enemies do tend to try to get to us through you, so better to be safe than sorry. Just for now."

She nodded in agreement. "Right. I'll make up the guest room for you." She left the living room to head upstairs and Rowen leaned back on the comfortable couch. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed Sage's number again. Frustrated at only getting his voice mail, he left a quick message for Sage to call him and hung up.

A few minutes later, Mia came downstairs to find Rowen slumped sideways on the couch, fast asleep. She knelt in front of him, smiling at his peaceful face. She frowned as she remembered the days with Talpa. They were just boys back then, and had the whole world's safety on their shoulders. She cautiously tapped him on the knee to wake him. From her experiences, one didn't startle a Ronin Warrior...could be the last thing one ever does. As it was, Rowen leapt to his feet, arms at the ready to take down any opponent. Surprised to see Mia sitting on her backside on the floor, a frown on her face and arms crossed over her chest, Rowen asked, "Why are you on the floor?"

The girl merely rolled her eyes, picking herself back up. "Your bed is ready."

Rowen shot her a lopsided grin and started heading upstairs. As his foot touched the first stair, he realized that he had no clothes to wear tomorrow. For toiletries, he was set, as he and the others had stayed there enough times that Mia now kept a stash of toothbrushes and the like just for them. His was, of course, dark blue. "Wait," he said. "I have to go get some clothes." He turned towards the door and stopped. He didn't feel comfortable leaving Mia alone in the house. "Why don't you get some shoes on and come with me?"

Mia shook her head. "Don't be silly," she said. "I'll be fine." At Rowen's continued hesitation, she continued. "I have some spare clothes that you can wear."

After picturing himself wearing a short skirt and pink sweater, Rowen grimaced. "I don't think your clothes will fit me."

Mia snorted. "Not my clothes, you idiot. I have some of Ryo's clothes that he left here. They might be a little short, but at least they're clean."

Rowen nodded. "Okay," he agreed. "I'll get some more clothes tomorrow."

"Come on then," she gestured for him to follow. The warrior obediently followed, starting to turn into the guest room that Ryo usually inhabited, but was surprised when Mia kept walking and headed into her bedroom instead. Frowning in puzzlement, he walked behind her and sat down comfortably on her bed while she rummaged through her closet..

Rowen looked around Mia's bedroom. It was very soft and simple, with light blues and greens scattered throughout. He smiled as he realized that the quilt he now sat on was a patchwork of green, orange, red, light blue, and dark blue squares all sewn together. There were three light yellow pillows propped up against the white headboard. He looked above the bed and smiled as he saw a picture of Mia with all of the Ronin Warriors after defeating Talpa. They were all in street clothes, smiling into the camera. Rowen noticed something and looked closer at the picture, frowning. "Mia?" he asked.

"What?" came the muffled reply from the closet.

"Are you and Ryo holding hands in this picture!" There was no reply from the closet so Rowen continued unimpeded. "And for that matter, why are _his _things in _your _closet?" Still no answer, so he stepped into the large walk-in closet with her. "Mia?"

She turned around with her head down, red-faced and looking guilty. "Well, Rowen, you see-"

Rowen chucked her lightly under the chin. "Hey, I'm just kidding! I'm not your parents. If you and Ryo want to sleep together, I'm not going to stop it!" He threw himself back onto the bed, smiling at Mia's indignant sputtering.

"You don't understand," she stammered. "It's not like that!" Rowen smiled knowingly and opened her nightstand drawer to find proof that she and Ryo were indeed an item. Mia shrieked and ran for the nightstand to cover up the embarrassing box. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "How did you know?" she asked.

Rowen grinned again. "Because that's where I keep mine," he announced.

If Mia's face bloomed any more red, she would have burst into flames. "You!" she shouted, grabbing a pillow from the bed and throwing it at him. Rowen laughed, dodging the pillow. He grabbed Ryo's clothes from the floor where she had dropped them and sprinted out the door before she could do any more physical damage.

Strata headed into the spare room, still smiling over her attack. _Ryo and Mia,_ he thought, shaking his head. _I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. _

* * *

"Ow, that hurts!" Kento complained as the nurse injected his hand with a syringe to numb the laceration site.

"Quit being such a baby!" Rinfi shouted as she punched her brother lightly in the opposite shoulder.

"I told you I hated needles," he grumbled, turning away as the nurse began washing the injury.

"Okay, the doctor will be here in a minute to stitch you up," the nurse said, walking out of the room leaving the two siblings alone.

After a few minutes of silence, Rinfi spoke. "Kento? What was that language you were speaking before? I didn't recognize it."

Kento frowned at his sister. "What language?"

"Before, when you were-lying on the floor. You were saying something, but I didn't know what it was. It was kind of neat, so I figured it was something you were learning in school."

Kento raised an eyebrow. "I'm not studying any foreign languages in school. Are you sure it wasn't English?" he asked, referring to another language he spoke fluently.

"I know English, you dummy," Rinfi retorted. "No, this wasn't something I have ever heard before."

Kento shifted uncomfortably in the hard plastic chair as he considered his sister's words. _What's going on?_

* * *

Ultana watched the scene in the white room with the orange warrior and his sister. She smiled as she heard the sister's words. If the warrior was speaking their language, then her summons were getting stronger. She must have injected some of their language into the young man. "Still not strong enough though," she grumbled. She had to figure out how to use their armor powers and combine them with her own powers. She wasn't quite sure of how to do that, but she was running out of time since Attol was running out of patience.

*****Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!*****


	4. A New Enemy

***I don't own the Warriors or Mia.***

Sage yawned as he stared bleary-eyed at the blackboard in the front of the lecture hall. He tried to focus on his Geography teacher, but was finding it very difficult as he was only going on about four hours of sleep. Granted, during the days of Talpa, he was getting by on two hours-or sometimes none at all-but it was amazing how much they had all been going on sheer adrenaline. Nothing like being attacked to wake you up and keep you alert1

He rubbed his eyes and yawned again. His neighbor, a redheaded girl whose name Sage had forgotten, leaned over to him. "Are you all right? You've been yawning through the whole class."

Sage nodded and flashed a half-smile in her direction. "I didn't get much sleep," he said in his accented English. He didn't notice the girl blush as he smiled at her.

_A blond Japanese guy with violet eyes-who knew? _the girl thought.

Sage saw her out of the corner of his eye and he could see that she was still staring at him. He wasn't sure why today, since his eyes were so bloodshot and baggy that it looked like he had gone a few rounds in the boxing ring.

Sage's head drooped closer and closer to his desk as he was quickly beginning to lose the battle with his fatigue. He was pretty sure that he had actually started to doze when the door to the lecture hall opened and slammed shut, startling everyone. "Excuse me," the professor spoke up, as the new visitor interrupted his lecture. "Can I help you?"

"I have come for Halo," a voice hissed. Instantly, Sage was awake and twisting swiftly in his chair to see the newcomer. His face paled as he saw a large cloaked figure standing at the top of the stairs at the back of the hall. Tensing, he half-stood at his desk, ready for battle, but at the same time trying not to bring attention to himself. He could feel the redhead's eyes on his back, but he ignored her.

"Halo?" the professor asked, confused. "There's nobody here by that name. You have the wrong class."

_Halo, _a voice whispered in Sage's ear. His warrior senses completely alert now, he did a graceful back flip out of his chair just in time to avoid the cloaked figure as it flew towards him. He landed on the table one level up and crouched at the ready, facing the enemy. Chaos erupted as the other students in the class ran from the lecture hall, seeking freedom outside the building. Sage barely noticed them as his attention was on this new villain who was climbing the desks towards him slowly.

"Who are you?" Sage snarled, narrowing his eyes. "What do you want with me?"

"Halo," it repeated, in a menacing growl. Sage opened his mouth to speak, but the figure lunged at him with amazing speed and he barely had time to jump out of the way. As it rushed him again, it managed to catch his ankle. Sage crashed down against the chairs in front of him, his face slamming down on the table, cutting his lip. "Halo," it growled again.

"Stop saying that!" Sage shouted, kicking his leg free. He wiped the blood from his face and stood up on the table. He pulled his armor orb from his pocket, but before he could summon his subarmor, the creature threw itself at him, sending both of them tumbling down the stairs to the bottom of the lecture hall. "Dammit!" Sage shouted, shoving away from the creature and untangling his legs from the billowing robes. He was just able to call his subarmor when the creature charged him again. Sage responded quickly, throwing himself into a backwards handspring and bringing his leg up to kick it across the side of the head.

It roared and rushed at him, it's hand catching Sage at the throat and slamming him into the blackboard. He heard the blackboard crumble from the impact, as well as the cement wall behind it. Using all of his strength, Sage shoved his hands against the creature's shoulders and pushed, throwing it off balance. He jumped out of the way as it attacked him again, and called up his armor. "Armor of Halo, DAO CHI!" Sage yelled and was soon standing in the classroom wearing the familiar green armor. He drew his nodachi and faced the creature. "I said, what the hell do you want with me?" They stared at each other for a moment, and Sage was vaguely aware of his phone ringing from his jacket back at his seat.

"You will not interfere!" the creature screeched. Sage charged the thing, swinging his sword at it, relishing the power he felt rushing through him from his armor. It hopped out of the way and lashed out at Sage, fingernails raking across his cheek. Gritting his teeth at the stinging pain, he swung his sword again, catching the creature across the shoulder. It shrieked and bolted in the opposite direction. Sage was astonished at the speed at which it flew up the stairs.

"Aw crap!" Sage shouted as he realized that it was trying to escape the lecture hall. Not knowing who was still in the building prevented Sage from using his surekill, so he was forced to follow the creature out into the hallway of the Science Hall, fully covered in the Armor of Halo. He brought his facemask down, in hopes that no one would recognize him. He emerged in the middle of a group of students who screamed when they saw the armored figure with the huge sword. Avoiding them, he scanned the hallway for the menacing figure. He found it at the end of the hallway, gliding-gliding?-away at an alarming rate. And it was headed for the door to the outside yard.

Sage gave chase, leaping over cowed students huddled in the hallway, unsure of what they were really seeing. "Get back here, you bastard!" he shouted at the creature. Putting on more speed, he began gaining on it, as it was slowed going through the double doors to the yard. Sage burst through the doors out into the fog in time to grab the cloak and in one vicious yank, pulled the garment off. He gasped as the figure underneath was revealed. It looked like a human body that had been decomposing for several weeks with rotting flesh hanging off of a skeleton. It turned to snarl at him and Sage was stunned as he realized that it had no eyes, merely holes in a skull. He heard students screaming at the sight that greeted them in the courtyard as they burst out of the building.

Sage jumped at the beast, knocking it to the ground, and sending both of them sliding across the grass. He looked into the face of the creature and was disgusted by the sight and smell of it. It raised its head, trying to grab Sage's throat with its teeth. Halo pulled back, punching it across the face...or where the face would have been, had it not been a pulpy, disgusting mass. The creature brought it's legs underneat Sage's stomach and kicked, knocking him a few feet back. It jumped up and took off across the campus, the blond warrior immediately giving chase once again. He followed it through campus, while people ducked out the way in fear. Sage finally cornered it between two buildings and a huge clock tower. He held his sword up menacingly. "Who are you?" he asked quietly, teeth bared.

"I am not from your world," it answered.

Sage quirked an eyebrow. "That much I figured out, moron_." _

"You will find out soon enough." With that, the creature vanished. Breathing heavily from his sprint across campus, Sage sheathed his sword and approached the area where his enemy had suddenly disappeared. Touching the grass he found nothing-no evidence that anything had even been there.

"Hold it right there!" Sage was suddenly aware of the police sirens wailing behind him. Slowly he stood up and turned around, hands in the air. There were several cops with their guns trained on him. Realizing that there was probably no logical way out of this without either spending some time in jail or getting shot, Sage pushed off with his legs and jumped to the top of the English building, quickly running out of sight.

Leaping from building to building, he ran far enough where he felt comfortable to stop and remove his armor. Sucking air into his heaving chest, he wandered around the roof, trying to find a more normal way to get down from the building, rather than jumping down into a crowd of students. He spotted a fire escape and shimmied down. He emerged from the back of the building, trying to act completely nonchalant. He could see people staring as he walked by, and he grew paranoid as he thought they recognized him from his impromptu battle in the Science Hall. He finally made it back to his dorm room and walked in, noticing Timothy sitting on the couch watching television.

His roommate did a double take as he saw Sage enter the room. "Holy crap, man, what happened to you?" Sage glanced at himself in the mirror next to his bed and widened his eyes at the blood smeared all over his face. That explained why everybody had been staring at him.

Searching for an explanation, he responded lamely, "I - uh - tripped outside and fell against the stairs."

Timothy frowned at his bleeding roommate. "Seriously, dude, you are bizarre."

Sage headed for the bathroom to check on his injuries. Seeing that they weren't as serious as they looked, he decided to let them heal on their own, rather than summon his armor to heal them. He returned to his room and searched around for his cell phone. With a curse, he realized that it was still in his jacket pocket. Which was still at the Science Hall along with his backpack. He hated to ask, but since he didn't think it was in his best interests to walk back to the classroom, he turned to Timothy. "Do you mind if I borrow your cell phone?"

"To call Japan?" the brown-haired youth answered irritably. "Are you going to pay me back?"

"Of course," Sage snapped, and was instantly contrite. "I'm sorry, I have had a-uh-rough day, and I must -um-call my friend. Please, may I have your -um-phone?"

Timothy frowned as Sage's English faltered and he realized that his roommate had really had a terrible morning. Usually his English was impeccable. _Better than mine, _Timothy thought and handed Sage his phone.

Sage started to head outside, but figured that since the police were probably still roaming the campus, he would be better off in his dorm room. He would be speaking Japanese anyway, he reasoned, so Timothy wouldn't be able to understand. Dialing a familiar number, he waited impatiently for Rowen to pick up the phone.

* * *

_Strata, _a whispered voice hissed in his ear. Rowen's dark blue eyes snapped open into the darkness. He sat up quickly, looking around the bedroom. Seeing nothing, he pushed the covers away and stood, blue eagle eyes scanning the room. The moon filtered through the window, producing eerie shadows across the floor. Rowen shuddered as he felt a cold sensation flow through him. _Strata, _the voice hissed again. He whirled around, but still saw nothing.

"AAAAUUUUGGGHHHH!" Rowen's eyes widened as he realized that the bloodcurdling scream was coming from Mia's bedroom.

"Mia!" he shouted, sprinting from his room. He ran into the master bedroom and stopped short as he saw a huge cloaked figure standing at the foot of Mia's bed. "Strata," it whispered.

"Rowen," Mia pleaded, bedcovers clutched under her chin.

The warrior barely glanced at the terrified girl on the bed as he turned his attention to this new intruder. "Who are you?" he demanded of the hovering figure.

It ignored his question and flew at him, knocking him backwards. "Rowen!" he heard Mia scream as it bowled him over, the solid weight lying on his chest preventing any movement. It grabbed at his throat and Rowen choked as he fought to break the hold.

"Mia!" he gasped out. "Get out of here!" He saw a flash of her fuzzy pants as she ran quickly through the hall and down the stairs. Relieved that _she_ was at least out of harm's way, he managed to get a hand up and punched the creature across the face. He heaved himself into the air, away from the beast, landing gracefully at the end of the hallway.

The creature rushed him again, knocking him through the loft railing and onto the ground floor below. The wind left his lungs with a whoosh as he slammed through the coffee table and onto the hardwood floor. He yelled in pain as he heard the crack of several ribs as he landed. Wheezing painfully, Rowen tried to pull air back into his injured body. He looked up just in time to see the cloaked figure jump to the floor next to him. It reached for him again, but this time Rowen was ready. He rolled away, and sprung to his feet, ready to call his subarmor and immediately after, his full armor. "Armor of Strata, DAO INOCHI!" As soon as he was armed, the creature bolted outside. Rowen grinned, since he was hoping to get it out of the house. He didn't really want to use his Arrow Shock Wave in the middle of Mia's living room.

Rowen ran out onto the porch, following the creature. He was so focused on it that he didn't see another figure crash into him from the right. He flew through the air, landing hard against the porch railing. Pain radiated up his side and he clenched his teeth against the burning agony in his ribs. Angry now, he jumped over the railing, landing in the front yard. "Okay, you sorry sons-of-bitches, you're going to pay now!" He notched an arrow and aimed it at the creature closest to him. It shrieked and stormed towards him. "Arrow Shock Wave!" he cried, releasing the arrow.

His enemy screamed as Rowen's surekill disintegrated it where it stood. Strata's victory was short-lived however as the other being flew towards him. Before he could get his bow up to block it's attack, it knocked it away and threw itself against him, knocking him to the ground. It landed on top of him and Rowen gritted his teeth as his injured ribs were jostled around. It had Rowen's arms pinned beneath his own body and he was unable to move. It reached a rotting hand towards Rowen's throat, intent on the kill. Strata struggled, but unable to move, he closed his eyes and braced himself for whatever came next.

Suddenly the weight was thrown off of him and Rowen opened his eyes to see a flash of orange armor fly over him, looping an arm around the enemy and pulling it away from the injured Strata. "Great timing, Kento!" Rowen shouted, struggling to pull himself to his feet.

"Iron Rock Crusher!" Kento twirled his staff above his head in the familiar pattern. The creature squealed as it was vanquished from Mia's yard. Kento turned to his faltering friend. "Rowen!" He rushed to his side, pulling the dark blue arm around his orange clad shoulders. "Mia! Are you okay?"

Rowen's heart lifted when he saw the worried girl's face from the porch. She hurried down the steps to the injured warrior. "Are you okay?" Her large green eyes looked at his pale face.

"I think some ribs might be broken," he gasped. He allowed Kento and Mia to help him into the house where he removed his armor and collapsed onto the couch, clad only in the pair of boxers that he had fallen asleep in. Mia rushed to the bathroom to get bandages with which to bind Rowen's ribs. After her days helping them with Talpa, she had made sure to take as many community education classes on first aid as she could. She figured that it would eventually come in handy.

Kento, now wearing a pair of lounge pants and a t-shirt, sat on the couch next to Rowen. "What the hell was that thing?" he asked.

Strata shrugged, wincing at the pain that shot through him. "I don't know. But I'm guessing that it probably has something to do with those weird feelings we have been having." He glanced at his friend. "How did you know to come here?"

"Mia called me." Kento's face split into a wide grin. "She interrupted a great dream, too! I'll have to get her back for that one!"

Rowen smiled, trying his hardest not to chuckle. Clutching at his ribs, he leaned against the back of the couch. A thought hit him suddenly and he bolted upright, crying out at the sudden movement. Kento grabbed at his shoulder, in case the blue-haired warrior passed out. "What is it man?"

"Sage," Rowen panted, grabbing himself around the middle. "He felt the same thing. Those things could be after him! Kento, do you have your phone?"

"Sorry, man." Kento shrugged helplessly. "These pants don't have any pockets."

"Mia!" Rowen shouted, immediately regretting it.

Kento frowned with worry at his friend. "Mia! Can you bring Rowen's phone down for him?"

"Sure," the girl responded and bounded down the stairs a short time later, phone in hand. Rowen grabbed it from her and dialed Sage's number. After a few rings, he hung it up worriedly.

"I hope he's okay," Mia fretted as she began wrapping Rowen's ribs. She clucked her tongue as she looked at the black and purple splotches already beginning to form on his pale skin. She pressed his solid abdomen, reassuring herself that there was no internal bleeding.

They all sat quietly for a moment, Rowen wincing as his broken bones were bound tightly.

_Hardrock, _Kento jumped to his feet, whirling around.

"What's wrong?" Rowen asked, startled by his friend's sudden movements.

"Did you hear something?" Kento ran into the kitchen, looking for the source of the voice. "I heard somebody say something. A voice."

Mia and Rowen looked at each other. "I didn't hear anything," Strata answered slowly. "What did it say?"

"It just said 'Hardrock', and that's it."

Rowen rolled his eyes. "Son-of-a-bi-" He was cut off as the picture window in the front of Mia's living room exploded. Rowen threw himself on top of Mia to protect her from the flying glass, his body screaming in protest. Kento's arm shot up in front of his face, preventing any serious damage from flying glass, but creating several small slices up and down his forearm.

"To Arms!" He and Rowen were immediately in their subarmor. Four menacing cloaked figures floated through the broken window, settling themselves in the living room.

"Hardrock," they all shrieked, pointing at Kento.

"Geez, who are these guys?" Kento shouted. "What do you want from us?"

"Kento, arm yourself now!" Rowen called up his armor, cringing as the weight pressed him down. "Watch them, man. They're crazy fast." Rowen notched an arrow, ready to fire at the closest enemy. It advanced on him slowly, cloak covering it's face. The minute Rowen aimed and released the arrow, the creature in his sights vanished. "What the-" He didn't finish as two very solid feet hit him across the chest plate, sending him through the wall of Mia's living room and into the den behind it.

"Rowen!' Kento watched as his friend was shoved into another room through the wall. He turned to face the other three enemies, making sure to watch all of them at once. They advanced on him slowly, weaving as they walked. Looking down, Kento was shocked to see that they weren't really walking. It was more of a glide. In fact, it didn't appear that their feet were even touching the ground. "Who are these guys?"

"Hardrock!" a creature hissed. "You will not interfere!"

"What does that mean?" Kento pleaded, trying to figure out what all of these enemies wanted from them. The enemy on the left lunged at him, reaching for his neck. Easily knocking its hand away, Kento shoved his staff in front of him. "That's it! I'm getting real tired of you jerks!"

"Kento, be careful," Mia was crouched on the right side of the couch, opposite Hardrock. As if noticing her for the first time, the creature on Kento's right began inching slowly towards Mia.

"You won't touch her!" he shouted, swinging his staff at the creature. It shrieked as it was thrown backwards. Kento approached it, momentarily forgetting the other two. They reminded him of their presence quickly enough, grabbing him around the shoulders and throwing him to the ground. His staff flew several feet away, out of his reach. "Dammit!" he seethed.

In the den, the fourth creature straddled Rowen, hand to the warrior's throat. "Wh-what d-do you want from us?" Rowen choked out, finding himself in the same position as he had only moments before. He was starting to get pretty tired of everything going after his neck!

"You will not interfere!" it spat at him, hand closing tighter. Rowen was able to pull an arm free to reach to his quiver. Feeling the arrow shoot out into his hand, he clenched it tightly and swung it around, piercing the creature through the temple. A dark cloud of smoke puffed out of the cloak as the Strata arrow was shoved into the being.

It's piercing shriek resounded through the house and its hold on Rowen's throat loosened. Collapsing on the floor, it gave one last pitiful squeal before lying quiet. Rowen sat up gingerly, holding his sore throat. He only spared the creature a momentary glance before stepping back through the hole he created, intent on helping Kento with the other three. Hardrock was grappling on the floor with two of the demons as Mia was brandishing a coffee table leg and swinging at the third. It grabbed the table leg and pulled it from the girl's grasp. Mia screamed as it came for her. She backed up, tripping over a piece of debris, falling against the couch.

"Mia!" Rowen rushed to help his friend. He lowered his shoulder, ramming into the creature, and sending them both sailing out of the picture window to the ground below. Rowen screamed as his ribs took the brunt of the impact and he struggled to get to his feet, gasping for breath. Turning to face the creature, he saw a flash of orange out of the corner of his eye as Kento was thrown through the front door, two creatures close behind him. "Kento! You all rig-" Rowen was cut off as the creature charged him, catching him squarely across his broken torso. The pain was finally too much for the warrior of Strata and as he landed several feet away, he finally let the darkness overtake him.

"Rowen!" Kento hollered as he saw his friend fly through the air. He was prepared to save his friend from the third creature when it turned its sights on Kento, ignoring the fallen Strata. He now faced three advancing cloaked enemies, staff in hand. "Iron Rock Crusher!" He performed his surekill, but almost as if anticipating the move, all three flew effortlessly into the air. They floated swiftly towards Kento, intent on the kill. Hardrock closed his eyes, bracing for impact. He could hear Mia's screams from her porch. Wouldn't be long now.

"Flare Up Now!" a new voice called from the driveway. Kento's eyes flew open as he saw a streak of fire shoot past him, vaporizing the enemy.

"Ryo!" Kento shouted in relief as he saw the red armored figure running up to the house.

"Are you okay?" Wildfire asked, looking at the destruction.

"I'm fine," Kento answered, never so glad to see his friend's face. "But that was a close one!" Remembering Rowen, he turned panicked eyes towards Strata. Rowen was thankfully conscious, sitting up while Mia fussed over a nasty cut on his forehead.

"Ryo, Kento," she called. "Help me get Rowen inside."

They were both immediately on either side of their injured comrade, lifting him as gently as possible. Rowen turned his damaged face to Ryo. "Glad you could make it," he rasped, his throat beginning to show bruises from his strangulation.

Ryo grinned. "Hey, I always have impeccable timing."

"Ow!" Rowen complained as they hauled him up the porch steps and laid him back on the couch in the destroyed living room.

"So what brings you here anyway?" Kento asked. "Aren't you supposed to be in India?"

Ryo shrugged. "Not sure. I just had the feeling that I needed to be here."

"Good thing you were." Rowen had removed his armor once again, letting Mia finish binding his ribs. He noticed that the girl hadn't even looked at Ryo since the warrior had shown up. Frowning, he caught Mia's eyes and looked at her questioningly. She merely blushed and focused on her task.

"I had it totally covered," Kento protested light-heartedly dabbing at the injuries to his arm.

"Yeah, I could see that!" Ryo rolled his eyes. He had been in a near panic when he heard all of the noise as he approached Mia's house. He had barely made it in time as he saw those three 'things' attacking Kento. He hadn't even seen Rowen until Kento had mentioned him.

Ryo joined Rowen on the couch. "So what were those things anyway?"

Rowen shook his head. "No idea. Two of them attacked Mia and me earlier, and then four of them went after Kento."

"How about Sage and Cye?" Ryo asked.

As if almost on cue, Rowen's phone rang loudly. Not recognizing the number, but knowing it was from the US, Rowen answered. "Sage!" he said brightly. He listened for a few moments, interjecting a few times with "Yeah, that's what we saw. But there were six of them." and "No, Ryo's here." Finally he hung up the phone and turned to Kento and Ryo.

"We need to get a hold of Cye."

* * *

Ultana watched the scene in horror as it unfolded in front of her. She had to get the warriors here before Lord Ostrum could kill them. First he had sent his soldiers after the green, then the dark blue, then the orange. If the red hadn't interfered, all would be lost. She figured out soon enough that he was using her summons to track the warriors. That he was able to send enemies back at all proved to her that his powers were indeed stronger than hers.

She didn't dare try and summon the red, as he was safe thus far from Lord Ostrum's black magic. No reason to draw attention to him. The light blue had yet to be found, but Ultana was hopeful that he would make his presence known soon. Lord Ostrum didn't realize that his attacks may have given the warriors the incentive they needed to get together, helping Ultana finish her spell.


End file.
